Fundamentals
by HowAboutThisForAName
Summary: How Rythian came to be, and how Xephos had a hand in it. A Yogscast fanfiction, M for gore and mild swearing.


Fundamentals.

How Rythian came to be.

It was strange working alongside Endermen.

They were tall, and so one always had to crane their neck to look at them, the fact these ones did not explode into anger at a glance a wonder all it's own. They spoke with a resonating tone, one that echoed just in their throats and came out a deep and respectable rumble that cast aside their 'degenerate' brethren's screeching, swarm like abstruseness for something as eloquent as any Human scholar.

They played the part of the scientist well, clothed in especially long lab coats that wrapped around their tall, spindly forms, their gaping maws kept as tight as possible even in speech and their eyes generally lazy looking as they cast their gaze down at their compatriots. It was a nice change of pace, or so Xephos thought.

He'd found himself enthralled in conversation with as many of the creatures as he had Humans, Robots or Testificates, and found them a philosophical people with a culture drenched in combative honour and conquest of the mind, perhaps at the sacrifice of other flourishing species. However he didn't really mind himself, his own record not exactly spotless in regards to genocidal tendencies and the more less-than-legalities that plagued Yoglabs in ever increasing numbers, something that he relished.

However, even with such activities as those of Srivaramen or even Testificate M.D, it was good to have a constructive discussion, to make progress beyond those more mundane things that the CEO saw as easy and yet unreliable.

The proposition had at first been taken with jocularity and self-important pomp, the scientists of Yoglabs citing that they would not work alongside beasts. However the Endermen were persistent, having originally lettered the propaganda wing –of which forwarded this series of requests and offers to Xephos and the administrative panel for proper examination- after they were initially denied they appeared outright in the office of the CEO, causing him a fright and almost causing a full scale battle to erupt as the man dashed for the nearest alarm, his blade aside his desk chair.

When they had subdued and convinced him of their means, he had taken them more seriously, been presented with observable projects and evidence that they were more than just monsters of the night ready to steal children and kill adventurers, and even showed him a few glimpses of their underground culture, though keeping it sparse as not to let on too much about the Endermen world.

After some deliberation, Xephos figured that working alongside those born of the night was not so different on a fundamental level than any other group that purported itself to have a holding in Yoglabs; they used Human and Testificate slaves and test subjects, and they were being experimented on by Human and Testificate scientists.

So why was working with those they had killed in the past so bad? Especially considering they thought themselves superior to those ones that appeared in the darkest corners, in Xephos' head it was all the same thing; fundamentals.

Hence, after a long discussion with the chief of each wing, they asserted that they would trial this new relationship under one shared project and go from there. The Endermen agreed.

The head of this bloc presented himself upon this decision, an especially tall specimen by the name of Kage and easily identifiable by his shoulder-riding short cape, he spoke with a voice that would have melted the hearts of women had he been human. Xephos had spoken excessively with the Enderman, sharing stories and treatise on various things, and the man had much respect for what he would usually consider a monster.

It was an eye opener, to see the Endermen act as themselves, and not some plague like horde of madmen teleporting about to overwhelm and eviscerate any poor soul unlucky enough to wander into their territory. Kage had cited that these were a sad result of something he only referred to as 'The Betrayal', and would not elaborate when drilled for details.

But when it had come time to select the project, it had been a long and arduous task full of miswords and what Xephos saw as ineptitude, people never able to come to a decision on both sides of the argument, the fact they were constantly surrounded by armed guards making the Endermen all the more hesitant in asserting their position lest they get killed in a number of ways.

A combination of two projects proved the most sufficient, with only one particular scientist upset with their decision, and even then he agreed despite his own reservations.

The first of these two decisions had been agreed upon by the majority of Xephos' own team, a bio-cultural expedition that would see them glean some light on the Endermen, their abilities and their connection to The End and Enderdragons among cultural paraphernalia and other such nonsensical butchery.

Appalled by this, the Endermen had instead wanted a joint task force to better relationships between Humans and Endermen, to eliminate a collection of groups they saw as either heretical or biologically inferior and exterminate the ferals that plagued Minecraftia, hive by hive.

The compromise favoured the Endermen, who were just short of withdrawing their support at the horror of Yoglabs, whom had already shared a large portion of their technology and information with the Ender Bloc. What they had decided was an elaborate half-way point in the most viable form, that of a person, who would be granted complete access to both sides of the coin without restraint with more and more slowly being introduced under the first in a sort of commander-esk fashion, while simultaneously hunting down and crushing resistance against both groups, the survivors to be used for slavery and experiments.

However, no mere man would work, nor an Enderman, both for obvious reasons. They needed something more appropriable for Enderman resources while still fitting into Human society, something without remorse and without the limitations both groups possessed, rain and magical inability, on the Endermen's and Human's part, respectively.

This is where the biological aspect of the compromise came into play, they would make a half-man half-ender hybrid; an Enderborn.

And so, Project Reflective Nonsensical was born, PRN for short.

Xephos strode down the halls of Yoglabs with all the confidence that came with being an evil CEO, among the top of his class alongside such memorable classmates as Sips or Strife. Though clothed in a flawless lab coat he took the precaution of slinging his treasured blade over one shoulder, more a show of dominance among his own men then those of the Endermen, as he was the only scientist authorised to carry such glaring weapons aside the chiefs of staff, who themselves had their weapons confiscated while working on PRN.

He walked by a cleaning droid, it's mechanical hum a tune that he imitated for a moment before it evolved into a whistle, finding his step a spring higher and with more brisk than before as he felt elation rise inside. This project had been ascertained and on the go for two months now, the rapid development of a trans-species foetus risky business in the time they were rushing it along but necessary for their purposes lest either party grow impatient even as Xephos had drilled such a measure of virtue into his men, or at least attempted too.

The Endermen, also, were not perfect, as Nara had made it a point to inform him every time the smallest of altercations occurred whether it be a xenophobic slight to an all-out brawl, and this had been handled by a security team sternly at the Human of the duo's orders.

But today they would be pulsing electrodes to see if brain activity had begun at any admirable rate, to see if the IQ of this foetus was viable enough to put him in a position of power or if they'd have to go back to the drawing boards, as there was nothing worse than a mentally degraded super being capable of killing everyone in Yoglabs and beyond.

Along the way, one of the thousands of mechanical doors leading into any number of offices and chambers opened and a Testificate popped out, his long cloak an distinctive lenses permitting Xephos to assume it was none other than M.D, and ascertained that it was when the Testificate had no reservations about joining his side in equal stride, arms interlocked below his sleeves as always.

"All preparations have been implemented," he explained, "we're ready to begin when you are."

Xephos let but his eyes glance to his colleague, observing every portion of him before he abruptly cut off his own whistling and stated, "Excellent, let's get moving."

"As always sir," M.D agreed passively, nodding his bulbous head and fell a step behind his boss to give the man some space, as he knew the man liked being in a position of power both literally and figuratively.

Given time, a blonde scientist joined them, a Human of course –as Testificates lacked the ability to grow hair of any sort- that toted a goatee and a Howie coat, goggles upon his brow and a tablet of some description in his hand.

"Lalna," Xephos greeted amiably, not needing to turn to know who it was, he had memorised the sound everyone's shoes on a subsonic scale.

"Xephos," he stated more coldly, jaded by the fact his own propositions had been denied when picking the project even after all this time, something that Xephos couldn't bear to rectify given his own worries. The man had still agreed to help, and had served a remarkably important role in downsizing Endermen biological this or that's to fit inside a Human body with any degree of effectiveness, and had been thanked personally by Nara though the man had rejected him outright.

They journeyed for some time, the halls never ceasing and mostly uniform save the lines on the floor changing colour and breaking off at random intervals, but it was what was at the end of this deceptively long corridor that they were aiming for, and it caught many newcomers by surprise just how extensive the place was. Not even Xephos had seen all the facility, and he'd been there when it was being built.

They reached a huge blast door, guarded on either side by both a man and an Enderman, all four having been especially selected among the most impassive of soldiers regarding race and species, having been regarded as a good quartet that stood above the rest by many a man, Xephos figured he'd have to give them a pay rise for their role in this magnificent creation of theirs.

He nodded to one such soldier, whom immediately turned and entered in a twenty letter code, the four large quadrants of the door slowly and deliberately sliding back into the portal of which they blocked, and so the trio stepped through quickly, as the guard asserted even at his low rank in comparison to any of them.

The fundamentals of safety were not lost on Xephos, and he respected the man for upholding them. They stepped through, and the door almost immediately shut behind them, leaving them in a rather dark but incredibly active room, apparently on a large overhanging balcony of some description as they saw none other than Nara himself leaning against the railing at the edge of it, while all around them consoles and stations were toiled away at by Testificates, Humans, Robots and Endermen alike.

Lalna broke away immediately, quickly jotting down the stairs to their immediate right, which would lead him to the lower level where even more stations existed including the master panel that he alone was capable of controlling.

Xephos and M.D however took the time to walk the length of second floor to get astride the leading Enderman, and finally got a view of what had been emanating an eerie yellow glow all about the roof and on Nara himself.

Central to the room below –as it was identical on all sides, with the same balconies and stations about save the main control directly below them- was a large tank held in place by a thousand wires and struts entrenched in both the ceiling and floor, surrounding by a railing and filled with a dark yellow liquid.

Inside this liquid floated a man, naked save a pair of dignifying, clinically white shorts, his eyes shut and a thousand different wires implementing various liquids into his form at various places along his arms and legs. His hair was light brown and fluttered about carelessly in the ever-present fluids, while upon his lower face was a large, bulky contraption attached to a thick pipe that floated high into the centre of the tank's ceiling, though it looked more than just a respiratory insinuation.

"It's coming along grandly," Nara noted, looking impressed even with hollow, alien features, and Xephos let a small smirk escape his being.

"Brilliant, fucking brilliant," he stated giddily, and the Testificate of the three allowed a rarely sighted hand to glide from his sleeves and to the small hole that passed for an ear, where a communication device sat sparingly, and he mumbled a few things in his native tongue before relaying the message to his superior, whom looked on with mild curiosity.

"We're ready now, at this moment, we can go live at any time," he insisted, and Xephos nodded a short nod before looking to the colleague at his left, craning his neck to see what the Enderman thought of the situation.

"We will discover nothing if we dawdle," the scientist conferred, and the CEO of Yoglabs let a wide, slightly deranged smile cross his features for a moment before he stood straight and allowed both hands to grip the railing.

"Tribuo vita ut everto; give life to the demon!" he ordered loudly, casting a hand out and setting an almost hungry gaze on the tank below, looking predatorial and determined.

"Going live," Lalna announced from below, and there were three resounding expressions of similar disposition before the man said something else, "Projecting electrodes in ten."

Above the wires and encasing them in a lazy half shell, screens on all sides flashed to life before emulating what the blonde below had said with a patented 10 written in bold, flashy letters. All the while members of all species and the robotic disposition rushed about securing recording devices and bio-responsive processes, the whirring of the room enduring into an omnipresent self-gratification of power and scientific subsistence that made past projects seem inferior in every way, at least to Xephos' experienced mind.

It counted down, with soldiers prepping guns in case the worst occurred, scientists huddling together in anticipation and fear while engineers held their breath and clutched their tools, wires and other activation devices with sociopathic obsession.

It counted down so slowly, slower than Xephos felt was possible and surely everyone else in the room felt the same way. It was nearly too much as he watched it tick by ten, nine and eight, leaning further and further until M.D had to pull him by the back of his lab coat with some resistance before he repeated the very same process with the seven, six and five. At the four, he may or may not have let out a small squee of excitement, but for the last three he held his breath and waited in utter transfixion.

Three.

Two.

One.

There was a short zapping sound as Lalna released a stream of electrodes, and the entirety of the room watched in some sick abstinence as they observed the new life and if it would react at all.

The body inside, it twitched, which in itself caused a few researchers to let out a gasp of relief, likely those involved in his fine motor skills. After this, and with a sudden jolt, they saw his entire body straighten ever so slightly and his eyes dart open, a bright purple invading the glare of yellow that likely blurred his vision.

That was a cheer for the entirety of the room, such a reaction not expected, and they suddenly started clapping and chattering loudly, congratulating each other and themselves as the experiment took in his surroundings, casting his frightened and shocked gaze around the room as best he could give the hundreds of wires sticking out of him.

But even as M.D and Lalna, Srivaramen and many others rejoiced at the success, it was Xephos and Nara that continued seriously observing the subject, and the Human heard a hum from his companion as the movements of the experiment got more and more rapid and impressive, indulged muscles flexing with each movement and eyes widening with every twitch.

"Something's not right," the Enderman observed, and this caught the attention of M.D at least, who stopped his inner monologue to look up at the Enderman and then to his boss.

"What?" he asked, his nasally voice pervading Xephos like a foul, ignorant stench.

"He's right," the CEO agreed, and leaned over the bars to get a closer view.

They watched as the rest of the room gradually caught sight of what was happening, watching as the experiment continued to panic and become more violent in his movements until his hand grazed the edge of the class, at which point he tried bringing both hands up to press against it, looking forward until his gaze cast upwards and connected with Xephos', who held it steady and true.

Obviously fearful of the man, the tank-child suddenly twisting in such a sense as to detach a great many of his wires and drips, before Nara observed a tell-tale glow at the end of his fingertips and promptly attempted to shout the impending hazard.

But too little too late.

Even as he opened his large mouth to yell, the experiment seemed to roar, purple quickly encasing his arms before the glass suddenly cracked all over it's form, leaking yellow liquid even as the man inside slowly floated down to it's bottom, and then when people began freaking out, cast both hands directly sideways.

The tank exploded, glass and metal flying in all directions enough to eviscerate half the room's population while the rest –Nara, M.D and Xephos included- hit the deck hard and in, covering their respective heads as glass shards rained down from above.

The CEO of Yoglabs heard gunfire and yelling, the sounds of teleportation occurring before bones snapped and men were silenced, and quickly jumped to his feet to see that the man had attempted to teleport away only for the contraption on his face to keep him there, the backlash of the failed spell sending long, lashing waves of energy to slice up scientist and soldier alike, many of whom were trying to rush for the doors only to be cut down by the sheer force.

He watched as the experiment –now soaked and absurdly angry- returned to where he had been before, all the while looking up the pipe that kept him stationary, before clutching at his face to see if there was any sort of release. Gripping the very edges of the contraption, Xephos realised what the man intended to do, and quickly whistled to catch the man's attention, drawing his sword in the same tone.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he cautioned, but with his sword out and his glare stern the subject only glared at him, and as if in spite prepared to rip the rebreather from his face.

He couldn't help but turn away, hearing an awful ripping noise and then a scream of immense pain, and understood that the experiment had done exactly what he told him not to do. Turning back, Xephos saw the morbid tatters of skin hanging from where the man's nose and cheekbones should be, blood and other matter dripping down the now exposed jaw of the fellow, spurting wildly in every direction as the victim himself looked down into the mask at the remains of his mouth and nose.

Experienced with more gory scenes, however, Xephos took the moment of distraction to attempt a falling slash of what he now judged as a failure, but was disheartened to see the man just glare at him even harder before disappearing into a few wisps of Ender. But he was not stupid, and knew by habit the creature would come for him from behind, and turned to swing at the head of his new opponent, whom indeed was there charging him down.

But he teleported again, and again with his intuition of the beared fellow side stepped a foot from above before going to decapitate the experiment's feet as he fell from the air. But the failed creature simply teleported a third time and into a place where when Xephos swung he was able to push the flat of the man's blade away from himself before following up with what would have been a devastating thrust to the stomach.

However, skilled in the art of leaping, Xephos used his blade's backed momentum to swing it back and cast himself away from the monster, through where the tank used to be and onto the other side of it, the experiment keeping his fist raised in the air even as voracious quantities of blood dripped from his bony, inhuman jaw.

He didn't have to fight; the fundamental screeching of a truly monstrous Enderman invaded Xephos' ears and those of anyone else in the room including those of what were supposed to be his brethren as he let out a blood curdling screech at a decibel just below that which would go unheard by the human ear, and the closest victim collapsed to his knees in pain as he felt his ear drums burst from the sheer pressure of sound.

Though now temporarily deaf, the man did look up through the abhorrent ringing to see the experiment, who just glared at him with that flesh hanging from his face, a disgusting looking thing that was in and of himself disgusted with the environment of which he was created, his intelligence issued by his eyes rather than his lips, as he didn't have any at the moment.

He teleported away after this observation, leaving a room full of temporarily deaf and dead people –as they did have clones- to ponder exactly what they'd unleashed, and it was Xephos that saw this, standing tall and holding a wire firmly to try and right himself, even as his vision and head swam.

"Christ on a bike," he hissed, a hand to his ear, though he wasn't quite sure himself if he'd said exactly what he wanted to, "that was horrible."

But then again, even as he viewed the obscene carnage around him, more than eighty percent of the room's occupancy massacred, blood painting the walls and guts splayed across every flat surface they could stick too, he felt an odd sense of giddiness inside him.

For what was science without failure? Failure led to rectification and rectification to progress. At least that's what Xephos felt were the fundamentals of science, and that in and of itself meant this… Event, for all it's carnage, had been a success.

And that was good enough for him.

…

**I don't particularly like the ending myself, but it's 12:22 as I write this, so cut me some slack.**

**~Erro AKA Isaac.**


End file.
